Laws affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or territory—everything from legal recognition of same-sex marriage or other types of partnerships, to the death penalty as punishment for same-sex romantic/sexual activity or identity.

In 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed its first resolution recognizing LGBT rights, which was followed up with a report from the UN Human Rights Commission documenting violations of the rights of LGBT people, including hate crimes, criminalization of homosexuality, and discrimination. Following up on the report, the UN Human Rights Commission urged all countries which had not yet done so to enact laws protecting basic LGBT rights.

On the map shown here, the nations colored in brown still have the death penalty for acts of homosexuality. The purpose of this petition is to pressure the United Nations to impose economic sanctions on nations which refuse to comply with the United Nations resolution recognizing LGBT rights. Such sanctions were directly responsible for ending Apartheid in South Africa. Economic sanctions are very effective.